For Russian President Vladimir Putin, being cast in the West as a global supervillain is proving a boon for his image at home as he prepares for his annual press conference on Thursday and presidential elections in March.

A Chinese tech company pulled offline a virtual-reality avatar depicted as a flirtatious secretary in revealing clothes, hours after The Wall Street Journal asked whether such depictions encourage a view of women as sexual objects in the workplace.

1

The Wall Street JournalBaidu’s iQiyi apologizes for flirtatious secretary ‘Vivi’ and says the avatar was in beta testing
12h

The Wall Street JournalThe WSJ sent thousands of surveys to people whose names appeared on the FCC's website to verify their authenticity—in one sampling, 72% of respondents said they didn't submit the comments.
27h

After China’s Communist Party party revised its charter in October to crown leader Xi Jinping as its greatest living theorist, an army of Marxist propagandists has gone to unusual lengths to spread their leader’s philosophy.

As the race for one of Alabama’s U.S. Senate seats entered its final stretch, Democrat Doug Jones has faced the challenge of building the electoral infrastructure needed to score an upset victory over Republican rival Roy Moore.

1

The Wall Street JournalDemocrat Doug Jones will need help of an unconventional coalition to beat GOP’s Roy Moore
3d

Two major hospital operators are in talks about a possible merger that would create the largest U.S. hospital owner, as a series of major deals are poised to consolidate control of the health-care landscape into fewer hands.

5

The Wall Street JournalTwo of America’s biggest hospital operators may merge to become the largest U.S. hospital owner
3d

Walt Disney would likely significantly scale back Fox’s movie studio if the company nails down a deal to buy most of the assets of 21st Century Fox, as part of Chief Executive Robert Iger’s plan to transform the company into a direct-to-consumer...

1

The Wall Street JournalAs Disney nears deal for Fox assets, curtain draws close on the era of the ‘Big Six’ studios
4d

The Philippines suspended a dengue fever vaccine that was given to thousands of children and launched an investigation, after the drug’s manufacturer said new evidence showed it could worsen symptoms in some cases.